Nathan Mentzer graduated from Montana State University with a BS in technology education and an MS in curriculum and instruction. He spent five years as a technology teacher at Darby High School in Darby, Montana. While there, he received three Teacher of the Year awards and the Coca-Cola Educator of Distinction award. Nathan worked to integrate real world experiences with secondary education by expanding Darby’s technology lab to include industrial CNC equipment, alternative energy vehicles and a bio-technology greenhouse. Nathan is involved with the Technology Education Association of Montana, serving as president, vice president and treasurer. Nathan completed his doctoral program in 2008 and is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Utah State University during academic year 2008-09. He has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Technology at Purdue University for academic year 2009-10. His dissertation title is Academic performance as a predictor of student growth in achievement and mental motivation during an engineering design challenge in engineering and technology education.